Glenn Gritzner

Public affairs specialist and political consultant Glenn Gritzner grew up in the Central Valley of California, in the cities of Tehachapi and Bakersfield. He competed in track, took part in mock trials, and performed well enough academically to become his high school’s valedictorian. Glenn Gritzner earned a music scholarship and three academic scholarships to attend California State University at Bakersfield, where he majored in communications for two years before transferring to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

At UCLA, he earned his Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude in Communication Studies. His first four years following college, Glenn Gritzner worked for First Interstate Bank, initially as an executive assistant, then in government relations. When the public sector and politics captured his attention, Glenn Gritzner returned to school for a Master of Public Policy, which he earned at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Specializing in political advocacy and leadership, Glenn Gritzner chose a campaign finance reform program for his final project.

This work later served as the basis for an initiative that helped change Massachusetts state policies. Returning to Southern California, Glenn Gritzner accepted the position of Editor for The Planning Report and Metro Investment Report, two monthly publications that focus on planning, land use, and infrastructure issues. The following year, he took the position of Executive Director for the Southern California Transportation and Land Use Coalition, a nonprofit that works to harmonize environmental concerns with transit system development.

In his next position, Gritzner served for nearly five years as Special Assistant to the Superintendent & Director of External Affairs at the Los Angeles Unified School District, after which he provided public affairs consulting from Los Angeles for the law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal for three years. Since May of 2009, Glenn Gritzner has held a Managing Director post at Mercury Public Affairs, a national firm that guides private sector and nonprofit clients through the complexities of government regulations and practices. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Mercury entrusts Glenn Gritzner with management of its Los Angeles office.